How to pick delegates for Santorum in Tennessee

On Tuesday, February 28, the Hamilton County Election Commission will wrap up early voting and prepare for “Super Tuesday” one week later.

Voters here and across Tennessee have been asking several variations of this question for days: “Gee, I really like what I hear from that sweater-vested fellow; but he doesn’t have any delegates on the ballot, so how do I pick delegates for him?”

One source tells me that a strategy being employed by some for the at-large delegates is to pick the ten delegates committed to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has dropped out of the race, and supplement them with the four uncommitted delegates who are free to choose any candidate at the start of convention voting. This would complete the slate of fourteen at-large delegates a voter is allowed to choose.

The thinking is that Perry will release his delegates before the convention, which would effectively give a voter who chose the above path fourteen uncommitted delegates. While all may not choose Rick Santorum, chances are that some would, while conventional wisdom has it that most delegates committed to other candidates would not (even if released).

There’s just one problem with that strategy: Perry endorsed Newt Gingrich, so would he signal for his delegates to support the former U.S. House Speaker? Some people seem confident that this is a non-issue.

In the 3rd Congressional District delegate race, there is but one Perry delegate; but word is that a couple of the Newt Gingrich delegates would certainly pick Santorum over Mitt Romney, if the first two rounds of convention voting happened to shape into such a contest. Any ideas from readers in other districts about how to pick three Santorum-friendly delegates?

Read more about voting for delegates in Tennessee here and here. And here’s a video by the Tennessee Republican Party.

Note: the above advice comes from a reader, and is provided as-is without warranty of any kind. Subject to terms, conditions, and behaviors out of my control. Mileage may vary.

Note: this website is not making any endorsements in the 2012 GOP presidential preference primary. This and related articles are responses to questions from the public that arise from the recent popularity of a candidate who has no committed delegates on the ballot.